Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport is celebrating another podium finish, and its best ever Sunday in the FIM Superbike World Championship. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished third in the first race of the penultimate round of the 2011 season at Magny-Cours (FRA) and came home fourth in race two. His team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), finished both races on his RR in ninth. Overall, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport collected 43 points this weekend, more than ever before.
From seventh on the grid Leon made up two places at the start of race one, but on the first lap he fell back to ninth. From there he started a fight back, getting nearer to the front with every lap, and then finally on lap 13, he was up to third. In the final stages of the race he was in a very close fight for P2, missing that position by only one second. Troy started from 12th and immediately improved to tenth. As the race developed he was able to make up another position. In race two, Leon was again fighting with the leading group, but had to end his charge for another podium in the final stages. Troy moved up to seventh despite some tyre issues, and defended this position until the final lap, but with the chequered flag in sight he fell back to ninth.
Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team retired in race one and finished eighth in race two. His team mate Xavi Fores (ESP) was 11th in both races. Both races were won by Carlos Checa (ESP), who also clinched the 2011 world championship title at Magny-Cours. In the riders’ championship, Leon is now fifth with 216 points. Troy lies 15th with 85 points. In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth with 261 points.
In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race three BMW S 1000 RRs were classified in the top six. BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team riders, Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) and Sylvain Barrier (FRA), finished second and third on the podium. Fabio Massei (ITA) from Team Piellemoto completed the top six.
Leon Haslam
“I have not been on the podium too many times this year, so we will take every opportunity. In the early laps of race one I was struggling a little bit, but then everything started to feel better. It was a good battle all the way with Marco and Eugene for the podium spots. In race two we had a few issues with the hotter conditions which prevented us from getting another podium finish. Certainly we are happy with two strong results like we had today, but there is still room for improvement. Still we all understand the areas where we need to work and we will go away from here and focus on putting everything right in time for Portimao.”
Troy Corser
“On the whole I am little disappointed. We have been strong and consistent all weekend, and in all honesty I was hoping for better results. I have been happy with the bike throughout practice and the setup seemed good for the races, but we really struggled for grip in the latter stages of both races. Two top-ten finishes on paper is not so bad, but with the pace we have shown we all expected a little bit more. Still we have some good information to work with going into Portimao in two weeks’ time.”
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
“Firstly, we want to congratulate Carlos Checa on his great achievement in winning the world championship. With his commitment and that of his team he really deserved this success. Our positive results have been a nice reward for our hard work over the past weeks and months. The positions were justified but we are still not exactly where we want to be. However, we have proved that we can do the times to run at the front. We still have to work on some details so we can continue the consistent level of progression.”
